Upturn in British tourism coincides with increase in international visitor numbers in Spain

November tourists from the UK spent 15 per cent more per day than in 2017

Data released by the central government on Thursday show that the number of visitors to Spain from abroad in November reached 4.55 million, registering a 3.6 per cent increase over the same month in 2017, while the largest single contributing market, the UK, also saw a 2.8 per cent rise in tourist numbers.

This was the second consecutive significant increase in the overall figure following a period of stagnation during the summer, and while British visitors again contributed over 20 per cent of the total (937,000) there was also a 3 per cent rise in the number of people coming from Germany (574,000). However, the figure for France was 10.4 per cent lower at 480,000 and Scandinavia contributed 5.7 per cent fewer visitors (411,000).

After 11 months of the year, the overall total has reached 78.4 million, just 0.7 per cent higher than at the same point in 2017, while the figure for the UK stands at 17.64 million after a fall of 2 per cent and the data for Germany and Scandinavia also point to a decrease in the market (of 4.7 per cent and 0.5 per cent respectively). However, the total is higher than in 2017 for France (up by 0.7 per cent), and other significant rises are reported for Portugal and the USA (both up by over 10 per cent).

The continued reliance on British visitors was illustrated in November by the fact that the UK again provided the largest share of the market in three of the major tourist destinations (26.1 per cent in Andalucía, 33.2 per cent in the Canaries and 33.9 per cent in the Comunidad Valenciana), as well as being the second largest source of visitors in the Balearics (16.9 per cent).

It is worth pointing out once again that the relative stagnation in terms of visitor numbers to Spain this year does not mean that there is no growth in the international tourism sector of the Spanish economy, although expansion in 2018 has been modest so far. Spending by foreign visitors is calculated to have been 5.3 per cent higher in November at 4,890 million euros, and has risen by 2.8 per cent in the year so far to 84,811 million euros, with the UK contributing 17,133 million euros (20.2 per cent of the total) following a rise of 2.8 per cent.

That is to say that while there were slightly fewer tourists coming from the UK last year, at least in the first eleven months, they spent more while in Spain, and in November a shorter average length of stay (7.2 days) was counteracted by higher average daily spending (133 euros, 15 per cent more than in the same month in 2017) and the simple fact that there were more people contributing to the total!